Benfits of Music Going to the Dogs... literally

Music has always been an important part of my life, and I have noticed how music can also be soothing, relaxing and calming to animals. And it is going to the dogs... literally.. in a great way!

My friend  Justin Hines  is an incredible songwriter, musician and philanthropist, and I am delighted to announce that he is making his way to our province on his upcoming Vehicle of Change Tour  in September. On September 8, Justin will perform in Edmonton, and the concert benefits two incredible organizations Chimo Animal Assisted Therapy   and
The Society for Safe and Caring Schools & Communities 

Justin Hines' music inspired me while I was writing Toby's books...You can see the love in Toby the dog's eyes as he got to hang out with his music hero, Justin Hines.

To find out more about the organizations benefitting from this event visit: www.chimoproject.ca and
www.sacsc.ca   

To order tickets, visit 

 Recently I had the chance to talk about the upcoming event on PAWsitive Radio- All Things Pets!     You can listen to the show and the news about the concert, the organizations and how dogs will be involved with the event at:

Listen To Pets Internet Radio Stations with PAWsitive Radio on BlogTalkRadio

Animal Assisted Therapy Dogs... making a PAWsitive Difference!

Therapy dogs make a significant difference in the lives of people around the world. From volunteering in hospitals, seniors homes, group homes, schools, reading programs, mental health facilities (to name just a few), AAT (animal assisted therapy) dogs reduce stress and anxiety, and can positively impact a person's physical health and emotional state.

Toby the dog with my husband Christopher,
volunteering at Dogpalooza event in Edmonton Alberta and supporting
Chimo Animal Assisted Therapy Program Booth.

Listen to a great conversation I had with Renee on the radio....we were talking about Toby's story, animal assisted therapy and Toby's book Toby The Pet Therapy Dog & His Hospital Friends.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/storiesfromunknownauthors/2012/06/14/interview-with-charmaine-hammond-for-toby-pet-therapy-dog

"Toby is a big, brown, happy dog. Every week, his owner, Miss Charmaine takes him to visit and comfort children who are in the hospital. Follow Toby the service dog for a day, and see how he makes friends with the children, helps make them happy and forget that they are sick and away from home."


Beautifully illustrated, Toby, the Pet Therapy Dog teaches young readers the wonders of being of service to others.   A happy story that also sends a positive message about community, as well as the importance of kindness to pets.

To learn more about Animal Assisted Therapy and the Chimo AAT Program, visit
http://www.chimoproject.ca/chimo/ and listen to Danielle from Chimo Animal Assisted Therapy on PAWsitive Radio- all things Pets!

 

Listen to internet radio with PAWsitive Radio on Blog Talk Radio

 

We'd love to hear about your animal assisted therapy program, or your favorite story about therapy pets.

 

 

Animals Are Smarter Than You Think

Last week I read this on Facebook “The real reason animals don't talk, is because they understand so much.” The quote really resonated for me because during the wonderful years we had Toby, our Chesapeake Bay retriever we learned so much from him.  We learned early on that this dog was a lot smarter than we gave him credit for, and once we figured that out, life got a little easier. Toby’s ability to “read” his environment was uncanny, this became particularly evident during his hospital visits, he visited as a pet assisted therapy dog with Chimo - http://www.chimoproject.ca/chimo/ and was placed at Alberta Hospital Edmonton. He seemed to know exactly what the patients needed from him and acted in such a way that built trust with them.

In a recent discussion with Susan Sutcliffe (K9 Body Worker and expert dog behaviourist) on my PAWsitive Radio with Charmaine, we discussed the ways in which animals communicate (non verbally, through their behaviours, routines and so forth). Susan provided some incredible tips to increase our ability to communicate with and understand our pets. You can listen to the show here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chammond/2012/03/10/guest-susan-sutcliffe

Georgina Bradley also shared some helpful perspectives about how smart animals really are. Georgina trained dogs for Hollywood movies, the Olympics, and for families and pet owners, like you and I. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chammond/2012/02/25/guest-georgina-bradley

How fun it would have been to have Susan and Georgina meet Toby, I would have loved to hear what they thought he was saying.  J

Until next time… remember, our pets understand a lot more than we think they do! 

Are Dogs Healers?

I believe that many are!  Our dog Toby was a pet assisted therapy dog through a local organization, http://www.chimoproject.ca/chimo/, for over four years. He volunteered every Wednesday with patients at Alberta Hospital Edmonton. Wednesdays were clearly the highlight of Toby’s week, and also for many of the patients he worked with.

Some of the impacts we observed with patients included:

• Increased desire and willingness to socialize with other patients and staff, and of course Toby and I
• A general improvement in the mood of the patients
• Patients overcoming their fear of dogs through building a relationship and trust with Toby 
• An increase in physical activity as patients would go for walks because Toby needed a walk or outdoor break
•  An interest in caring for Toby (made him dog treats, helped with brushing him on visits, and made him birthday and anniversary cards.
•  Reduction in stress and anxiety

Toby in many ways was a stress relief and a healer for those he met.

There are also dogs (and other animals) that volunteer in reading and literacy programs, group homes, counseling programs, seniors’ facilities to name a few. Animals have the ability to provide love, comfort, joy and unconditional love which can deeply impact a person’s healing and wellness.

To hear me talk about this, listen to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2012/04/08/dog-rescue-therapy-dogs

And

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thebodymindandspiritnetwork/2012/03/23/living-with-hope

and watch Toby at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0eEpYp0UjE&feature=g-all-u&context=G234743dFAAAAAAAASAA    as CHIMO staff Danielle talks about Toby and his job.

Good books are for sharing- you can read about Toby’s pet assisted therapy in his books:  To buy a copy of On Toby’s Terms, visit